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Empowering girls through Intercultural Gender-Transformative Education

The project aims to empower and strengthen the academic performance of 6,000 indigenous boys and girls from 20 primary schools (age 6-14) in rural communities in Riberalta, Bolivia. This includes the introduction of new technologies and education materials reflecting the local context and culture, and an education environment which promotes gender equality and alternative life opportunities.

  • 0,000

    indigenous boys and girls benefit from this project

  • 00.0%

    of indigenous girls in Bolivia completed primary school in 2012

  • Where
    Riberalta, Bolivia
  • Focus area
    Education
  • Duration
    2019 - 2024
  • Economy
    DKK 9 million
Prime partner: Oxfam IBIS

Background

The quality of education is very low for children from indigenous communities in Bolivia and especially for underage girls. This means that many children do not learn foundational skills, leave school prematurely and thus are unable to go further in the education system. In Bolivia, only 25.6% of the girls from indigenous communities completed primary school in 2012 and for non-indigenous girls it was 41.2%.

In addition to a massive shortage of culturally adapted educational content, girls and young women from indigenous communities also meet widespread gender discrimination and violence. In Bolivia, 3 out of 10 female students have been subjected to sexual harassment or rape in school, and 62.1% of Bolivian women are subjected to domestic violence. These forms of repression are rooted in cultural norms and a patriarchal system, often leading to early pregnancies and fewer opportunities in the life of women.

In the Riberalta region, about 98% of children are enrolled in primary school, but the percentage falls year after year, to the last year of secondary school, where only 48% are enrolled. Only about 50% of young girls in Riberalta are enrolled for the first year of secondary school, which is below the national average of 60%.

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The project

It works with an intercultural gender transformative education model to provide change and overcome challenges related to low education performance, over-age, school drop-outs and early pregnancies, identified as some of the key obstacles to education in the area.

The indigenous curriculum will be reviewed to match the region and cultural practices including content of gender equality & prevention of violence against and result in the production of new teaching methods and materials. It is the ambition of the project to get the e Ministry of Education to approve the Regionalized Curricula developed by the project and start implementing it in non-project schools in Riberalta.

By using education strategies, the project seeks to develop children’s potential and skills to participate more actively in schools, especially girls and young women, to help them overcome patterns of violence, discrimination and gendered expectations.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to improve the learning conditions of students in primary schools so they are better prepared to continue their education. In parallel, the project will seek to strengthen gender equality and the children’s aspirations for a better life free from violence. The project proposes to improve quality education by strengthening the education community and key actors in the municipal government so that they can foster the active citizenship of the targeted students, with emphasis on empowering female students. In the long term it will result in greater gender equality and more options available to the students when they grow up.

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